""Face! Center! Low! Hit him hard!" The shouts - a husky voice with a Southern surf bro twang - echoed in the dojo as a 4-year-old blond boy with a headband reading "Lil' Dragon" punched up at a scowling mannequin. "Kiiiiick! Don't jump. Just kick. ... Yeahhh!" More shouts. A huge smile from the tiny boy, a karate student who says he's almost 4 and a half, thank you very much. An even bigger smile from the shouter, sensei Gerry Blanck."
"Nearly 11 months have passed since fire ripped through Pacific Palisades, and on this autumn Tuesday, Blanck was back doing what he's done for 43 years - coaching toddlers, teens and grown-ups in the martial arts. For now, he is doing so in a temporary space in Santa Monica. His dojo on Marquez Avenue burned in the January firestorm. So did the homes of most of his students."
Sensei Gerry Blanck returned to coaching in a temporary Santa Monica space after a January firestorm destroyed his Pacific Palisades dojo and many students' homes. Blanck runs loud, joyful, energetic classes that combine firm commands with playful encouragement as trainees practice striking, kicking and climbing ropes. Families and students leaned on Blanck for emotional support after the blaze. Examples include an 11-year-old green belt who lost trophies, a 60-year-old black belt whose mother died after losing her home, and a seventh-grader coping with the death of his dog. Blanck's long career includes world kickboxing titles and training several actors.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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